During our Good Friday Celebration, we took a metaphysical look at three aspects surrounding Holy Week (the Last Supper or Holy Communion, the Garden of Gethsemane and the Crucifixion). Many have asked for a written copy of the message, so what follows is part one of three from our Good Friday Celebration. This first part will focus on the Last Supper, or Holy Communion.
“7 Then came the day of Unleavened Bread, on which the Passover lamb had to be sacrificed.
8 So Jesus sent Peter and John, saying, “Go and prepare the Passover meal for us that we may eat it.”
9 They asked him, “Where do you want us to make preparations for it?”
10 “Listen,” he said to them, “when you have entered the city, a man carrying a jar of water will meet you; follow him into the house he enters
11 and say to the owner of the house, ‘The teacher asks you, “Where is the guest room, where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?”’
12 He will show you a large room upstairs, already furnished. Make preparations for us there.”
13 So they went and found everything as he had told them; and they prepared the Passover meal.”
(Luke 22:7-14, 19-20)
It was the time of Passover, a Jewish Feast commemorating the Israelites’ escape from the Egyptians. Symbolically, it describes a time when we bridge from one state of consciousness into a new one; when we pass from the mortal into the spiritual.
Jesus sent Faith, represented by Peter, and Love, represented by John, to make the preparations for the meal. And this meal, or communion, is a place where the deep aspirations of the heart could be shared with the Indwelling Presence. The place that was being prepared for this sharing was the upper room. It symbolizes a higher state of consciousness that is attained through prayer.
At this time, when we are bridging into a higher state of consciousness, faith and love go before us and prepare a place that is achieved through prayer where we can share our deepest thoughts and desires with Spirit that dwells within us.
“14 When the hour came, he took his place at the table, and the apostles with him.
19 Then he took a loaf of bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” 20 And he did the same with the cup after supper, saying, “This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood.”
(Luke 22: 14, 19-20)
The bread represents divine substance. Jesus said, “This is my body,” meaning a body of spiritual ideas. The breaking of the bread is the stirring into action of these divine ideas.
The wine symbolized His blood, which we consider “life,” and the circulation of divine ideas. Just as the blood in our own bodies circulates to bring oxygen and sustenance to the cells, the circulation of spiritual ideas renews us and brings to us the abundant and unlimited life of God.
When we partake of this “divine substance” and “divine life,” it becomes a part of our consciousness. With this action, we blend our minds with the God-Mind, harmonizing it with the life and light of our own divinity. Jesus urged us to do this in remembrance of the Christ-nature that is within each of us.
